It's Bandra Feast! Preliminary Research Reading Begins ...and my First Visitor

Saturday, September 8, 2018
Bombay

It's Bandra Feast! Preliminary Research Reading Begins...and My First Visitor

     Namaste from Bombay!
     I awoke to the realization that today is Bandra Feast--the Feast of the Nativity of Our Blessed Mother. In Bandra, traditionally, this day is celebrated by the Catholic Community as 'Bandra Feast'. That's because a landmark church in Bandra--Mount Mary's Church--so-called because it sits on the top of a mountain and is dedicated to Mary, Mother of Christ--celebrates its 'feast' today, September 8, which is the birthday (Nativity) of Mary. During the past nine days, local Bandra churches have been praying the Novena to Our Lady--a novena is a nine-day special prayer that culminates with the feast of a saint. Traditionally, Bandra's Catholics celebrated the 'feast' on the Sunday closest to September 8--which will be tomorrow. There is wining and dinning and community singing around a piano in Bandra homes. It is good to be here on Bandra Feast after three decades.

All About 'Bandra Fair':
     Bandra Feast is synonymous with a Fair--Bandra Fair. This used to go on for a week and was part of the feast celebrations.  As kids we used to be taken to the Fair by our parents who, after we'd heard Mass in a gloriously decorated church, walked with us down "Mount Mary Steps" past stalls selling candles, religious statues, rosaries and the like. They bought us cheap trinkets, a bottle of bubbles and typically Goan 'sweets' such as 'kadio-modios' and packets of black gram (roasted chick peas, known as 'channa' in Hindi). When we became teenagers, we no longer went to the Fair with our parents. We'd grown 'cool' and went with our friends, dressed to the nines and strutting our stuff in tight Levis and stillletoed heels at the September Garden where we made a beeline for the giant wheel and the BBQ Chicken whose aromas enticed for miles before we arrived at the rotisserie spits.When I became a mother, I took Chriselle to the Fair. I have pictures taken swinging on the moon with her in one of the make-shift studios that were set up there. My mother as a teenager also took dozens of pictures in theses studios--we still have several of her posing in these black and white passport sized images. I remember taking Chriselle into the House of the Laughing Mirrors where our reflections were so distorted that we doubled up in mirth.  Just good innocent fun it all was!
     I understand that the Fair is not what it used to be--it has apparently dwindled to a shadow of its old self.  Dad and I were talking about what it was like when he was a child--I am talking 80 years ago--yes, that's how long the Fair has thrived. He recalls being taken there with his sisters as kids by his oldest brother. He told me that getting through the church service was not too bad, but once they arrived at the Steps, it was simply impossible to make their way down. The crowds were so thick and so scary that my puny Dad and his puny little female siblings simply did not have the courage to brave them.  Then, out of the blues one of their neighbors appeared--a gigantic 'Sandow' of a man who towered above the crowds.  He told them to hold on to him in a tight crocodile and that he would part the crowds and let them through.  With their hearts in their mouths, they followed his suggestions and, miraculously, like Moses parting the Red Sea, he elbowed his way through the crowd and made a channel for them to follow.
      I recall hating the crowd myself when I was a pre-teen because I too remember what an ordeal it was to get down those steps. Well, apparently, it will not be half as bad today and I am sorely tempted to take a turn there and see for myself. Perhaps if I can find company, I will brave the likely throng and go. The Fair, like many old cultural traditions, might disappear altogether. Apparently, people who live in high-rise buildings that cling to the route that is part of the Fair are badly affected by the human traffic that descends upon their neighborhood for the week of the Fair and have floated many campaigns to eradicate it. Municipal authorities have taken heed of their requests and toned down the noise and the accompanying festivity--much to the annoyance of the tradition-bound who lament the passing away of another quaint cultural event to the demands of Modernity.  

Morning Routine Established:
     Today was a very productive and exciting day. I awoke at 5.45 am--glory be! It is the latest I have awoken since I have arrived in Bombay. Most days, I am up by 4.30 am and simply cannot get back to sleep again.  That said, I have been falling off to sleep by 10.00 pm. As usual, I blogged, responded to email and read Anthony Horowitz's The Word is Murder.  Good book.  Keeping me very absorbed during my meals--I munch as I read. This will probably be the pattern of my meals until I get a TV set. Soon....hopefully.
     I made myself a birschersmuesli breakfast with lovely hot hazelnut coffee. It is also something to which I look forward. The best thing I did was buying my microwave oven and electric kettle--they were virtually my first purchases in Bombay, and they have turned out to be a boon.
     Right after breakfast, I decided to go to the Jogger's Park to walk for exercise. I had not been there in years and I have entirely forgotten what it was like.  I think the last time I went was when my nephew Arav was a little over a year old. Llew and I have some pictures with him in the Park. He is almost fifteen--so you could say that it has been a while.

Exercising at Jogger's Park:
     Jogger's Park was created about 20-25 years ago in honor of a local PE (Physical Education) teacher who was known as "Sir" Oliver Andrade.  He was associated with local Bandra Catholic schools such as St. Andrew's School and St. Anne's School. He had made it his aim and vision to create physical training facilities for youth because he firmly believed that strong minds exist in healthy bodies.  To that extent, he was seen daily at dawn, training bunches of kids. When he died, it was decided that a dedicated space ought to be carved out, in his honor, through which his mission could continue.
      The end result is the beautiful Jogger's Park--a misnomer if ever there was one as folks do much more than jog there. Yes, jogging gets prime attention and has a beautiful dirt track that encircles the park on which joggers pound relentlessly. But carved alongside it is an equally beautiful walking track--and that was the one I used. I prefer walking on dirt (it is kinder on the knees) and this was paved in concrete blocks. What I did, therefore, was walk partly on the periphery of the jogger's track and partly on the concrete pavers. The concrete pavers run right alongside the Arabian Sea. Waves crashed on the rocks and swirled around the mangroves that fringe the palm-lined track. It was such a pleasure that I simply cannot express how thrilled I was to have such an exercise facility just minutes from my doorstep. How fortunate am I!
     I took 10 full rounds and enjoyed the ocean breeze in my face at every turn. The crowd was scanty (as most people seem to favor really early exercise and seem to avoid the warmth of the sun that definitely mounts after 9.00 am). As I am not averse to having the sun's warmth around me (all that fabulous Vitamin D for free), I am quite content to go later when the crowd has thinned and you have the park virtually to yourself. Such a boon! I do not believe I shall miss the Bandra Gym very much at all.
     In addition to these tracks, the park is gloriously landscaped with profuse tropical plantings, mature trees laden with blossoms, a play area for children, a meditation section where I saw people doing yogic headstands and an abundance of other facilities. What's more, it abuts the very swanky private Otter's Club--and I could not help thinking how privileged we all are to have the facilities that the Jogger's Park can offer for free when the members of the adjoining club are paying exorbitant amounts for the same ambience.

On to Work:
        Jogger's Park closes at 10.00am and reopens at 3.00 pm. I was back home at 10.10 to jump into the shower. Then it was time to get down to work. But then I got a call from my friend Sunita (Sue) inviting me to have lunch with her. I extended the invitation to her--she would be my first 'official' visitor. Nafisa and Shanaz have seen my place but they were here prior to my move. I told Sue that I could offer her Goan Shrimp Curry--and that closed the deal. She was delighted. We made plans for her to arrive at 1.00 pm.
     And so until 1.00 pm, I sat at my laptop and began my preliminary research reading by accessing the online articles that I had identified as part of my bibliography for my research project.  It went well and I learned so very much in such a short period--but mainly about Parsee Gujarati Theater. I have yet to come upon anything worthwhile with regards to Parsee English Theater--which is probably why my study is so apropos. I also started a list of potential interviewees for my field surveys--an equally important part of my work.
     The great part about being able to work on a laptop with internet connectivity is that one can multi-task. I was simultaneously trying to set up an appointment with the new Principal at St. Xavier's College, which, hopefully, will be this coming Tuesday. I was also attending to email related to NYU in New York and writing a few Thank-you emails to the folks I met at NYU-Shanghai--all of which kept me deeply engaged for a solid three hours.

Lunch with "Sue":
     At 1.15, Sue arrived.  It was great fun to see her again.  I have known her since we were both 16 and had been freshmen at Elphintone ("Elphie") College in Bombay from which we both graduated. Somehow we had hit it off--my best friend Beulah and I and Sue's best friend Delilah and herself. Time has taken us all far away from each other: I emigrated to the States, Delilah to Canada, Beulah moved with her husband's job to Saudi Arabia and Sue remained in Bandra.  Over the years, I have met her on each trip I have taken to Bombay and have also seen her often on her trips to the US which have been frequent. She does not live too far from me--in fact, she is on the same street as Fab India at Khar. Sue arrived with my first ever housewarming gifts--a beautiful candle and a diamante bracelet, both of which are just lovely. I adore them both. No need now for me to buy a candle which I was dying to do sooner or later.
   The best sense of gratification I get is when friends enter my little studio and exclaim about how cute it is. It totally warms my heart when they see how homely I have made it. Sue kept telling me how lucky I was to have found it and I kept telling her how lucky I was that I am so close to Dad in an area of Bandra that is still so charming and so quaint.
     We paused in our non-stop chatter to eat: I put out Goan Shrimp Curry, Elbow Macaroni with Scallions, Gherkins with Coconut and Onions and a Mash that I still cannot identify--Sue thinks, like me, that it is bread that has been soaked, squeezed and then sautéed with spices. At any rate, she was further amazed to find that this was a home-delivered meal and that I pay less than Rs. 200 for it! Truly, I have lucked out in so many ways that I am filled with gratitude each day.
    Our chinwag could have gone on forever but she had an appointment at Bandstand and had to leave. What's crushing is that she will soon be off to the US for 6 weeks and will not be back until early November. At least three of my close friends are headed Stateside at the very time that I have chosen to be here!

Shopping for a Bedside Lamp:
     The very last purchase I need to make my studio really cozy is a bedside lamp. The little night stand I have fashioned out of the carton of my microwave oven is small and cannot accommodate one with a very broad base.  Sue suggested I return to Cheap Jack as I would find it there.  So off I walked to Hill Road (which is literally just a 10 minute walk from my studio). Sadly, the three that they had on display had very broad bases and would not fit comfortably. I will have to continue to shop around.
     I walked back via Naturals Ice-cream and ended up buying two take-home packs--one custard apple and one fig for myself and one pack of Chocolate for my Dad and Russel. Ice-cream is always welcome--even if they have some already.

Off to Aldrin's Workshop:
     Back home, I got ready to make an excursion to the workshop of a chap called Aldrin, my Dad's TV techie.  He is trying to sell me a Sony 'semi-smart' TV set that is about 4-5 years old. He tells me that with an Amazon Firestick, I could easily convert it into a smart TV. Not knowing too much about    
TV sets, I am an eager learner.  He also wants to find out if my laptop will permit me to connect an HDMI cable to enable me to surf the web on the TV screen. I have, therefore, been instructed to carry my laptop to his workshop so that he can take a look at it. He gave me directions and I found his place--it is a 15 minute walk from my studio.
     Well, he took one look at my laptop and said that I would need an adaptor as I have a Mac. He suggested I buy an Apple TV and connect that to his second-hand Sony Bravia. After chatting with Llew on the phone about it, we have decided that I should simply go ahead and buy a new TV and that is what I will be doing. So I have now identified a Samsung TV that he says he can get at a good price. Hopefully, by Monday, I will be fully set up...This TV buying saga has gone on far too long.

Church, Dinner and Bed:
     I just had enough time to race back home on foot, change into something more formal and set off again on foot for Dad's place to drop off the ice-cream.  The two of us then left for 7.00 pm Feast Mass. I then visited with Russel after Mass for about twenty minutes and left so that they could get on with dinner and I could have mine at my studio.
     I had my first weekend G and T, my regular dinner and custard apple ice-cream for dessert (absolutely the best!) all the while reading The Word is Murder. At 10.30 pm, I washed my dinner things, brushed and flossed my teeth and went to bed as I really did feel a tad tired after all the walking I have done today.
     Until tomorrow...